High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

The Second Meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Science & Technology which was chaired by the Minister of Science & Technology of Sri Lanka, Prof. Tissa Vitarana, was held in Colombo on 24^th November 2009.   

The Ministerial meeting was attended by Ministers of Science and Technology from SAARC countries namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan.

In his inaugural address, Minister Vitarana emphasized the need to further promote cooperation in the area of Science and Technology within the SAARC to achieve socio – economic development in South Asia.  

Delivering a message from the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Hon. Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, the Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Mahinda Bandusena, stated that the application of science and technology would enable value added products to be developed from the agricultural produce of South Asian countries. Mr. Ghulam Dastgir, Director, SAARC Secretariat, also addressed the Inaugural Session.   

The Second Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Science & Technology reviewed the progress in the implementation of the decisions of its First Meeting held in New Delhi in September 2008.  The Meeting also considered the Report of the Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Technical Committee on Science & Technology and the Report of the Third Meeting of the SAARC Working Group on Biotechnology. The Meeting reviewed the implementation of the SAARC Action Plan on Science & Technology and underscored the need for expediting the harmonization of standards within SARSO under SAFTA. The Meeting also considered the matters connected to funding modalities to undertake science & technology programmes and projects under the implementation of the SAARC Action Plan on Science & Technology, Programme of Cooperation, SAARC Industrial Research and Development Initiatives, “Science Caravan”, the format/framework of the SAARC Science and Technology web portal, Sri Lanka Nanoscience Institute to  serve as a SAARC Institute for Nano Technology, a SAARC mechanism on intellectual property rights etc.   

The visiitng Ministers from the SAARC countries called on H. E the President on 25^th November 2009 and held a detailed discussion on future endavours of the SRRAC in the fields of Science & Technology.  

The Ministerial Meeting was preceded by the Meeting of Senior Officials held on 23 November 2009. The Meeting of Senior Officials was chaired by Ms. M.B.A. Ekanayake, Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology of Sri Lanka. 

Prime Minster Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka visited Madhya Pradesh in India from 30 October -2 November 2009 to declare open the Sanchi Vandana Niketana which is a pilgrims rest put up for the benefit of Buddhist pilgrims visiting the ancient Buddhist site of Sanchi which had been a sacred place for Buddhists since the time of the Mauryan Emperor, Asoka, in the 3rd Century BC.Sanchi is recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO because of its historical and archeological significance. Sanchi is important for Buddhists in Sri Lanka as it was from there that Arahat Mahinda Thero embarked on his mission to introduce Buddhism to Sri Lanka.The Stupas at Sanchi had immensely influenced the Buddhist architecture in Sri Lanka in early stage. 

The inauguration of Sanchi Vandana Niketana on 31st October was attended by high level representatives of India, including the Chief Minster of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Sivaraj Singh Chauhan, former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, and Madhya Pradesh Cultural Minster Shri Laxmikant Sharma, among others. Two Ministers from Sri Lanka, Mr. Dinesh Gunawardane, Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development and Mrs. Sumedha G.Jayasena, Minster of Childcare & Women's Empowerement were among the distinguished guests.   

The land for a Pilgrims Rest close to the famous temples was originally donated to Sri Lanka Buddhists by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Shri Jawaharlal Nehru. It became necessary to put up a new Pilgrims Rest with modern facilities for the benefit of Buddhists visiting Sanchi. The new Building was setup by the Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development.

Prime Minister Wickramanayaka in his speech at the opening ceremony explained that Buddhist philosophy did not teach ill will or hatred towards anyone. "The Buddhists envisage a world where everyone irrespective of race, caste or creed could live in peace and harmony as brothers and sisters. It was a basic teaching of Buddhism which believes in ahimsa ,metta and karuna" He further said that Sri Lanka was recently able to overcome a severe terrorist threat after 25 years of bloody conflict which saw the loss of more than 90,000 lives. The Prime Minister gave a pledge on behalf of the government of Sri Lanka that it would continue to further develop facilities at Sanchi which is a world renowned Buddhist pilgrim centre. 

Shri Shivaraj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh recalled the long association between Sri Lanka and Sanchi going back to Asoka's time and Arahat Mahinda.He also mentioned that terrorism had affected many countries including India and Sri Lanka.He congratulated Sri Lanka for its successful fight against the scourge of terrorism. He paid tribute to former Prime Ministers of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi who were victims of terrorism. He recalled that the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi fell on the same day as the ceremony.

Addressing a Seminar on "Emerging Peace & Investment Opportunities for Sri Lanka", organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in New Delhi on 15 September 2009, Honorable Navin Dissanayake, Minister for Investment Promotion, Sri Lanka invited Indian Industry to invest in Sri Lanka now that the 'war on terror' was over. He asked Indian Industry to visit Sri Lanka and see for themselves the opportunities that the country provides for Investments and business. Apart from profits, Indian Industry would create immense goodwill amongst the two neighbours, which is immeasurable. He added Sri Lanka provided lots of opportunities in many fields and many Indian companies are already operating in the country. 

In his address, Mr C R Jayasinghe, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India said that Sri Lanka has always regarded herself, ever since she has liberalized her economy over three decades ago in 1977, as an intrinsically friendly destination for foreign investors. This was not the first seminar that was being organized by the Board of Investment to sensitize the Indian entrepreneurs of the potential that the Island offers. More such seminars would be held in the future.

The High Commissioner said that while his nation struggled against the phenomenon of terror, the economic links with India continued to move from strength to strength. Investment from across the Palk Straits came in from sectors such as agriculture and plantation, ICT, Telecommunication and Manufacturing.

Speaking about the FTA between India and Sri Lanka, he said that there has been tremendous growth in the volume of two- way trade from US $ 600 million to US$ 3.2 billion last year. For both the countries, it was the first FTA, which was signed.

In his welcome address Mr. V K Mathur spoke about the strong relations between India and Sri Lanka, the FTA, which has benefited both the countries, the expectation that CEPA would be signed soon, the need for a proper environment for attracting investments, procedural simplifications and all that is needed to make the investor welcome to the country. The Seminar was attended by about 60 delegates from a cross section of Indian Industry which raised various issues concerning policy for investments. The Board of Investments also made a presentation on opportunities areas and said that approval for application would be granted quickly.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa  inaugurated on 20 March the two day International Buddhist Conference on the theme ‘Cultural interface between India and Sri Lanka based on Buddhist History, Art, Literature and Philosophy’ at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy, Pallekelle, Kandy.

Scholars and delegates from eight countries participated in the conference organized as a joint commemoration by India and Sri Lanka of the 2600th Sambuddhatva Jayanthi. The organizers yesterday identified the Conference as one which would further nurture the mutual bond of friendship between India and Sri Lanka.

The conference was organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), in association with the External Affairs Ministry, Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Ministry, the SIBA and Peradeniya University. The conference is an outcome of bilateral talks between President Rajapaksa and Indian leaders during his visit to New Delhi last year.